Marsha P. Johnson - Compassion and Courage
Marsha P. Johnson: The Heart of the PRIDE Movement
When we wave rainbow flags and march with joy and determination each June, we do so in the shadow and light of Marsha P. Johnson—a revolutionary whose courage, compassion, and unapologetic existence helped ignite the PRIDE movement and continues to shape it today.
Marsha P. Johnson wasn’t just a witness to history; she made it. A Black trans woman, drag performer, sex worker, and activist, Marsha lived at the intersections of oppression. And yet, she refused to be erased, refused to be silenced. She wore flowers in her hair like armor, turned pain into protest, and always insisted that the "P" in her name stood for “Pay it no mind”—a simple, powerful way of shutting down anyone who questioned her right to exist exactly as she was.
It was June 28, 1969, when Marsha found herself in the right place at the right time—the Stonewall Inn. While no one can say definitively who threw the first brick that night, it’s clear Marsha was among those who fought back when police raided the gay bar. Her resistance helped spark the Stonewall Uprising, a week-long act of rebellion that ignited a global movement for LGBTQ+ rights.
But her legacy didn’t stop with a single moment of defiance.
In the months and years after Stonewall, Marsha co-founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) with fellow activist Sylvia Rivera. Together, they offered shelter, food, and protection to homeless queer and trans youth—many of whom had been cast out by their families and left to fend for themselves on the streets. Marsha gave everything she had to others, often going without so that someone else could have a warm bed or a meal. Her activism was not about accolades; it was about survival, about dignity, about love.
Marsha’s work reminds us that PRIDE was never meant to be just a celebration. It was born out of protest, pain, and power—an urgent response to systemic violence and erasure. For Marsha, pride meant standing tall in a world that constantly tried to push her down. It meant protecting her community when no one else would. It meant making space for joy, for beauty, and for belonging, even in the midst of struggle.
Her death in 1992—under suspicious circumstances that remain unresolved—was a devastating loss. But her spirit lives on in the chants at marches, in the support systems built by and for LGBTQ+ people, and in every moment someone chooses authenticity over fear.
Marsha P. Johnson was the beating heart of the early PRIDE movement. And her legacy is not just a part of LGBTQ+ history—it is a beacon for our collective future. When we say “no pride without trans lives,” when we demand justice, when we lift each other up—Marsha is there.
This PRIDE, and every day, may we honor her with more than just remembrance. Let us continue her work. Let us pay it no mind when hate knocks at our door. Let us, like Marsha, choose radical love.
Resources to Learn and Support:
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (Documentary, Netflix)
🖤✨ Thank you, Marsha. We carry your legacy forward.
